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99th BG (B-17 Heavy) Lt. Otis S Lee

6 Oct. 1943
—Switzerland

Otis S Lee was residing in Ottawa, Oklahoma and enlisted at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on 23 Jan, 1941 as a Private directly into the Army Air Corp. Otis was born in Oklahoma in 1920 and had completed high school and was still single at enlistment.

Otis trained as a Pilot and was sent over the the 99th Bomb Group as a Flight Officer, the B-17 Heavies out of Oudna, Tunisia, North Africa.

99th Bomb Group, B-17 Heavy, (346th bomb Squadron) #42-30474 Shot Down 6 Oct.. 1943 MACR 929 (AUS 18049642 ) in the B-17 F Heavy Bomber / the "BUM's RUSH". Lt Lee bailed out of the stricken ship and made his way to Switzerland. The TARGET for this Mission was Mestre, Italy and the ship was hit and crashed near Verona, Italy.

( Research placed on 02 Feb 2014 ) Returned with George Creeth, Tail Gunner shot-down in a B-26 of the 319th Bomb Group, who was able to escape into a hole during a forced march towards a Nazi POW Camp and then made it to Switzerland safely to wait a long time before return was possible.

99th BG, B-17 Heavy Lt Otis S Lee (346th BS) "BUM'S RUSH"

1943 - 1944
—Switzerland

Lt (Flight Officer) Otis S Lee; Jan. 2014 from Professor Ago Alberti, Team Leader, Air Crash PO. Well I am looking for information about the pilot of the here cited a/c, which was shot down by German fighters in my area on October 6, 1943.Well, I would like to know something about Lt. Otis Lee:State where he used to live, place pf birth and so on.Could you, please, assist me into the matter?Sincerely,Ago

This may have been "Bums Rush" itself, plane 42-30474 lost October 6, 1943. It was part of the 99th BG, 346th BS. The pilot was named Otis Lee. He made it to Switzerland.It seems this is a real mistery...

Have checked the records of the RAF (Desert Air Force and 205 Group RAF) losses in the MTO and have found no trace of the two mentioned airmen.And, by the way, I would have another "case" for you:Old eyewitnesses (former partisans) have told me "one day, in a farm close to my village (Soncino, at the border line between the departments of Cremona, Bergamo, Brescia, in the central Po Valley), we met an American airman.He was aboard a "Flying Fortress" which was shot down in the Po Valley and he managed to parachute safely while his co-pilot died in the process. His name was somethingh similar to LEE. He has been shot down two days earlier and he told he plane took off from Tunisia; he has reached that country just a week earlier". The airman was conducted safely to Switzerland.

To come to an end:a) This episode occurred in 1943, probably in the last months of that year but prior to the aarival of the USAAF's heavy bombers at Foggia.b) The airman was hid and assisted by civilians and partisans andsuccedeed in reaching Switzerland.

I wil try to conduct a research at Berne, at the Swiss Federal Archives (the have databases of all the Allied airmen which escaped in that country) but, if possible, I would like to ask you to check your records in the hope to find out somethingh about this new case. Looking forward for hearing from you, sincerely, Ago

Hi Barbi my name is Arthur L. Lee. Otis is my uncle through my dad Jack D. Lee and his dad Otis's brother Monte Lex Lee. One thing as I understand it Uncle Otis was an NCO until his discharge when he was commissioned. He was commissioned and discharged on the same day. I will get in touch with the rest of the family and try to get some photos.